Uralchem Group Participates in UN Conference on Combating Desertification
Uralchem Group is taking part in the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP17). The event has brought together delegates from more than 190 countries and is being held from 17 to 28 August in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
During the Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Water Resources in the Face of Modern Challenges session, the Group presented its report titled Mineral Nutrition Management as a Preventive Measure Against Land Degradation.
The discussion, which gathered representatives of international organisations, government bodies, and businesses, focused on practical solutions for preventing and reducing degradation of agricultural lands, as well as improving the resilience of agricultural ecosystems.
According to various estimates, around 40% of the world’s land is classified as dryland. Desertification also remains one of the key risk factors for global food security. At the same time, the proper use of mineral fertilisers, combined with other agronomic measures, helps prevent declines in crop productivity and minimise the threat of further soil degradation.
Olga Poltavskaya, Uralchem Marketing Director:
Desertification is no longer just an environmental concern. It is fundamentally a food security issue. Land degradation affects extensive areas in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America, which are the most densely populated regions of the planet. Every hectare that loses its fertility represents food that simply will not reach someone’s table. For Uralchem Group, preserving soil fertility is an important part of our sustainability agenda and is also central to what we do as a business.
Wherever the Group operates, our assistance to farmers follows the same approach: we assess the soil, develop a tailored nutrition plan for each crop, and adapt agronomic technologies to local conditions. Our experience shows that preserving fertility is far simpler and more cost-effective than trying to restore what’s already been lost. Balanced crop nutrition keeps fields productive before soil quality begins to decline. This is the approach that should guide efforts to build agricultural resilience and safeguard food security in countries exposed to desertification risks, including in Mongolia, where roughly 77% of the land is affected.
Uralchem JSC (a part of the Uralchem Group) is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of nitrogen and compound fertilisers. The Company’s production assets are located in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, Kirov Region, Moscow Region and Perm Region.
Uralchem Group is a leading global producer of mineral fertilisers and chemical products. Its key assets include three major Russian companies — Uralchem JSC, Uralkali PJSC, and TOAZ JSC — with a cumulative production capacity of about 25 million tonnes. The number of people employed by the Uralchem Group is approximately 38,000.
Message source: Uralchem Group website